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The Ford Government has filed an appeal of a ruling made in Ontario Superior Court last month, which ruled Bill 124 as unconstitutional.
The bill was introduced by the PC’s in 2019 and capped all public sector wage increases at one percent for two years.
In a media release Ontario Nurses’ Association Interim President Bernie Robinson said initial reaction to the court’s decision was vindication for the 68 thousand members they represent. “Nurses and health-care professionals welcomed the court’s decision as the end of this severe violation of their right to freely bargain. We celebrated the end of our years-long fight to defeat Bill 124 as a victory for all workers, especially those in female-dominated fields that are frequently undervalued.”
A collective of unions including Unifor, OPSEU, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation and ONA launched their court challenge in 2020.
In that same release Robinson noted the outrage felt by nurses following the notice of appeal.
“Nurses and health-care professional across the province are beyond angry and frustrated that this government is continuing to defend Bill 124, and we are telling Premier Ford: enough is enough.”
According to Robinson hundreds of thousands of public dollars will be wasted fighting workers in court.
The appeal comes one day short of the 30 day appeal period.
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